What We Talk About When We Talk with Rick Hughes

— by Margie Doyle —

When Rick Hughes first became County Councilman, he held office hours every Friday at the Senior Center for people to drop in and talk to him. But that rarely happened. Now Rick is hoping to meet monthly on a casual basis with anyone who wants to talk to him. Sunday, July 22 at Enzo’s Rick met with Orcas Islanders to talk about:

The REET tax on the ballot in November: The Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) would add .5% on the sale of any property; it will offer a “unique opportunity for affordable homes for young islanders, working families and seniors,” says Rick. “It has the potential to raise $15 million over the next 12 years.” Through the tax structure, a private business or non-profit could submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) to build permanently affordable houses for employees such as teachers, farmers, and grocery store clerks. The hope is to be able to leverage locally collected dollars with state and federal affordable housing funding.

The Port Master Plan: concerns about extending port runways across Mt. Baker Road are misplaced, Hughes said, because the road is owned by the County, and its use is a County perogative; neither the State nor the Federal government can dictate its uses. “The County Road is like private property — it’s owned by the County,” Hughes said. “The Port has to adhere to County Land use rules.” He serves as a member of the Port Master Plan Advisory Committee, as a liaison to the County.

Public Information Access: Public records requests have cost the county government in recent years due to lawsuits filed against the county. So now public records are the ‘number one priority’ of county staff, and are addressed by a council liaison, new software, a public records clerk and a budget.

The Comp Plan: Hughes said the county is not “pushing” for 50% of island development to take place in the UGA, but the county IS required to “plan” for it.

However, it was brought up that code may in reality prohibit uses, practically speaking. People who are experiencing issues with county code need to bring forward how they’d like to see the code changed in Comp Plan update process. “This is our checkup for the next 20 years. How do we utilize the GMA to accommodate growth for next 20 years?” Hughes asks. “What do we want and does the code allow it? Codes written for larger communities such as Issaquah or Seattle may not be as applicable in our community.”

He also spoke of the county’s efforts to require the developer of property to provide infrastructure such as curbs, gutters and sidewalks for the density that they are creating. “The bottom line is we can’t have rules in conflict.”

One person commented on the difficulty in making laws that:

• are enforceable
• allow growth
• still respect, if not protect, the environment.

“The world population tripled in our [Boomers’] lifetime; some of it’s got to come to Orcas.”

One person commented that rules for modified density mean that there is land that is deemed “affordable” or land that is unused, but what about the ‘leftover land?’ He felt the Comp Plan update should allow more density within the Eastsound UGA (Urban Growth Area).

Hughes advised people to contact the county, asking that their issue may be included in the consideration of the comp plan.

Vacation Rentals: The county recently sent out mailers to every vacation rental permit holder that they must be compliant with county laws by the end of this year or be liable for action and fines against them.

Lightning Round: the four participants at this first “Koffee Klatch” were asked to weigh in on the biggest “Tempest in a Teapot” in the last 20 years on Orcas Island: one person thought it was the Country Corner LAMIRD (Limited Area  of More Intensive Rural Development) discussions of eight years ago (orcasissues.com/council-adopts-eight-amendments-to-comprehensive-plan-country-corner-lamird-set), Rick jokingly suggested it was “everything” and another person said, “Finding Elk Cows for the Bull Elks that are roaming the island.”

The next “Coffee with Rick” is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. at Enzo’s Cafe in Eastsound.